Fergus/Behind the Scenes
Background Information Television Series Fergus is a fictional traction engine created by Brian Trueman. In 2003, Fergus made his debut in the seventh series of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends in the episode, Bill, Ben and Fergus. He later appeared in the episodes, Salty's Stormy Tale and Fergus Breaks the Rules. However, he has not appeared in the television series since. In a 2015 interview with SiF, railway consultant Sam Wilkinson expressed his interest to reintroduce Fergus into the CGI Series. Fergus is based on the Aveling and Porter 2-2-0WT 'TJ' class railway traction engine No. 9449 "The Blue Circle". "The Blue Circle" has been dressed up as Fergus in real life. Behind the Scenes Gauge 1 Model Fergus’ model was scratch-built to run on gauge 1 track by model maker, Chris Lloyd. The model was built from brass. It was painted in a matte finish and lined gold automotive pinstripe tape. The model was track powered, so pick-up contacts were attached to the metal wheels, which ran into the motor to power it. The electricity ran from the track to the wheels/pick-up contacts and went into the motor to power him. The model was also fitted with a smoke unit and a working flywheel. The eye mechanism had two servos, one for up and down movement and one for left and right movement. The up/down servo was attached to the body. The left/right servo had a rod attached to the arm, which connected to a bracket. The eye balls were coupled to the bracket and locked in by the face-plate, so whenever the servos were powered, the eye balls would move however the crew member desired. Ten different facial expressions were sculpted for Fergus, although only eight were used onscreen.TomsProps on Twitter The faces were first sculpted in clay and from that resin casts were made using a silicone mould. Chris Lloyd found Fergus difficult to built as his small size meant there was little room to fit in all the components required to make him work. Fergus‘ smokebox and the middle section of his bufferbeam was larger than his basis in order to accommodate a face. File:Bill,BenandFergus12.png File:Fergus.png File:Fergusmodel.jpg File:Fergusmodel2019.jpg|Fergus' model in 2019 In the episode, Fergus Breaks the Rules, Fergus was seen with a lamp. This was powered by a hidden battery pack. File:FergusBreakstheRules24.png During the filming of the episode, Bill, Ben and Fergus, Fergus’ model was damaged in the scene where he got buried in a rockslide. The model still worked, but the flywheel became temperamental. As a result, the model was never used again after the seventh series. File:Bill,BenandFergus67.png File:Bill,BenandFergus68.png Close-up model Several close-up shots of Fergus’ cab was required for scenes in the seventh series episode, Fergus Breaks the Rules, where he had to interact with close-up scale figures. The model was not complete and only the back half was built. The model was also equipped with a motor to power the drive wheel and the flywheel. File:FergusBreakstheRules26.png File:FergusBreakstheRules58.png File:FergusBreakstheRules60.png Voice Actors * Ryōtarō Okiayu References Category:Behind the Scenes Category:Images of Fergus